Caray, Caray!

Every time I see Coni I want to yank her purty hair. That said, I do admire her tenacity and her ability to maintain focus. Now she has focused on the fact that Furia Enmascarada may well be her husband Mauricio. She's like a terrier with a stinky sock when she wants to find something out, darn it!! She flashes back to all the clues and smirks to herself.

As we know, Monita has dragged Furia off to a restaurant for lunch before her big fight. She's curious why he keeps his face hidden, it must be something very heavy (grueso). He could at least show her, she won't tell anyone who he is. Of course we know he can't do this, so he puts her off by saying one day he'll show her his face but not yet. "Are you quite ugly?" she asks, "Do you have pimples on your face? Is your nose smashed to one side?" She says she doesn't care what he looks like because she knows his soul. He has heart and she loves his eyes. He tells her each day as he knows her better he loves her more. They gaze at each other. Okee dokee, line up those anvils.

Aldo and Estrella discuss Mauricio's impending problem, how are both he and Furia going to show up at the same party? Aldo suggests to Estrella that he play the role of Furia, after all, he already fooled Estrella with the costume. She doesn't think it's a good idea, if he is found out it could make things even worse. They're not sure what they can do about it but they agree that Mau is going to have to make sure that nobody suspects anything.

Back to the other restaurant where Coni and Beto are eating. Beto returns to the table while Coni bites her lip in deep thought. She tells him she was thinking about Mauricio and La Furia Enmascarada. "Something perverse?" Beto asks. Coni watches tenderly while he goes on a sweet little rant about holding and kissing his Betito. She tells him to stop acting like the baby is his when she's told him it's not. He doesn't care, he wants her to let him keep saying it's his. Anyway, they'll see if it's a little Ochoa when it's born. He'll be able to tell by its odor and male-ness. The lovers laugh and make out.

Monita orders her pre-fight lunch of pozole rojo with everything, lots of radishes, and nice and spicy with chile piquin. She's rubs her hands and practically salivates on the table. Ya gotta love this girl's appetite and the way she enjoys her comfort food. She tells Furia she likes to carb up with her pozole before a fight, it makes her fight better. She brings up Ximena's party and Furia moans and rubs his head. He doesn't like parties but says he'll go. She can't wait to see everyone's faces when she walks in on his arm. She tells Furia he doesn't have to answer any questions from Mauricio or Salvador who is his right hand man. Furia frets and says he hopes everything goes OK.

The romantic music plays and Monita thanks Furia for being her date for the party tonight. He has no idea what a big help it is to her. Then I think she tells him that if Mau gives him a hard time it's OK to smack him upside the head. (Dar la torre).

We finally get a break from the restaurants and move on over to the club where Luisa and Katia's friend Andrés is singing. The two girls and Ivan find a seat just as the music starts. Andrs sings romantically and stares into Luisa's beautiful brown eyes; he's singing as if she's the only person in the room. Ivan catches on and scowls jealously while Andres croons and Luisa grins.

OK, back to the restaurant with Moni and Furia. Monita practically pitches a fit of ecstacy when her pozole arrives. She goes heavy on the lime and tells Furia he should really try it, it's the best pozole in Mexico. She covers her eyes and promises not to look.."come on, lift up the mask". Unbelievably, he does just that, takes a bite of stew and then closes in for a kiss. Gah, commercial!

And...the kiss doesn't happen. Furia chickens out and quickly replaces the mask with Monita being none the wiser. She digs into her lunch.

Andres is still singing directly at Luisa, Luisa is still staring at him and looking incredibly beautiful, Ivan is absolutely furious, Andres sings, Luisa beautiful, Ivan pissed, etc.

Over at the neighborhood Team Monita is ready to leave. Nieves has her furry lion purse, Pau is on Christian's arm, and Estrella and Aldo finally join them. (Estrella is looking much better today with no mention of her previous fainting spell.) Uh oh, Nieves is not happy to see that Alicia has OF COURSE shown up to see Monita's fight. Well, there's nothing Nieves can do about it so the ladies hurl a few ineffectual insults at each other and they all trot off to the fight.

Luisa and Katia are moved and entranced by Andrés. He joins them at their table and tells them, while looking directly at Luisa, that his group is there every weekend and he hopes they, while looking directly at Luisa, will come again. Katia gushes of course they will! Ivan has seen enough; he jumps up and puts his arm posessively around Luisa's shoulder. Luisa introduces him as her boyfriend. Andrés makes nice but gets a huge stink-eye from Ivan. Luisa and Ivan have a minor spat whereby Luisa reassures Ivan that Andrés is just a friend but isn't he padríssimo?!? Andrés and one of his band members watch Luisa and Ivan and then laugh. Luisa slyly flirts with Andrés when Ivan isn't looking.

The sun sets...

...and leads into a sunburst shape of backlighting at the arena where the crowd is starting to gather for the big fight. First we see Jacqui enter holding both Jero and Oski's arms. She is thrilled to be doing something so delightfully naco. It's a wonderful experience but she's just a little afraid. Oski announces he is there to protect her. Jero butts in that he is also there to protect her. Jacqui is in her element and she and her two lap dogs find their seats.

Elsewhere in town Rolu's brother Arnoldo fastidiously places a hankie on the curb and sits himself down in front of the house. Ximena arrives and rehearses how she will tell Rolu that she couldn't find his brother. She catches sight of the brother and thinks he's a beggar. She's out of money so she rummages around in her purse and gives him an apple with just a couple of bites out of it. He stares at it, horrified. Xime continues up to her door blabbing that the poor poverty-stricken lad has given her a case of depression. Arnie hurls the apple away from him and he stares at his hand, petrified.

Back at the arena we are lucky to catch a glimpse of Gabi and Sal caressing and saying nice things to each other. He loves her so much. He never knew a boxing arena could be so marvelous, and it's not the arena, it's her. She hopes he says these nice things to her always. Then Sal catches a glimpse of Jacqui and her little devils across the way. He's not happy to see her sandwiched between those two idiots, she's too much of a lady. Gabi disagrees, first of all those guys are eating out of her hand, secondly yes she might be a lady but she has talons.

Change of subject, Gabi sees Coni and Beto stroll in and tells Sal to get a load of who is walking in all triumphant. It's a disgrace that she would come to this place on Beto's arm! She comments that Coni is as bad as a photo on a license. (Yep, that can be pretty bad.) Gabi wonders why does Coni have to ruin every one of their happy moments? Good question.

Now Team Monita catches sight of La Momia which sets them off on a flurry of insults and gossip. Alicia seems particularly delighted to see that it's Nieves's son Beto who is escorting this stylish bit of trouble into the arena. Ooh and when she finds out la Momia is carrying Beto's child she fans herself ecstatically.

Beto and Coni plop down into the front row and Beto asks Coni does she need anything, soda, nachos, mueganos? (Maricruz taught us about mueganos when we recapped Querida Enemiga.) Coni asks why is he acting so weird? Beto just wants to make sure she's properly installed before he goes to give his support to Monita. This sets Coni off into a royal pout. she whines, she wheedles, she wants Beto with her! Beto is firm however, he always tells Monita good luck before a fight, she needs him. He rushes off and Coni looks around lost and unhappy.

Ximena arrives home to find Rolu tied up in the dark. She has three things to tell him. One...aw heck, she cries that she can't do 123 because she went to the airport and couldn't find his brother. She asks Rolu to please not be mad at her. Meanwhile our confused and lovesick victim looks like he's going to cry. OK, she remembers the three things. Una, his brother disappeared, it's all her fault and they should call the police. Dos, she understand that even though she abducted Rolu she can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to, much less stay with her. Tres, what was was three? Shoot, all she can think of is this poor guy at the door who was begging and now she's distracted and can't finish. And he was so well-dressed.

Xime unties Rolu, plops down on the bed and cries that she loves him loves him loves him. She's crying because she wanted a super duper maraviguau marriage that everybody would envy. She puts her head on his shoulder and says she wanted to be super happy with him but she knows she can't keep him with her against his will. "You're free and you can leave when you want, this marriage is over." Rolu cries into his hands and looks as if his heart is breaking, effectively answering the question does he have one?

Over at the arena Coni sees Jacqui and her devilish lapdogs staring at her, then Gabi and Sal, then the naco Greek chorus of Team Monita. She short-circuits and imagines she's in the arena alone hearing them call her a zorra and that she should go away! Back to reality, she sees Furia enter the arena. She jumps right up and tells him she'd like to discuss Valentina Lopez with him. Dang you cannot keep this woman down.

Furia tells her he's not interested in discussing anything with her and yes, Valentina is his girlfriend. Coni moves toward him and tells him she (Coni) is not as bad as she seems. He backs away in a vain attempt to maintain his personal space. She tells him his accent turns her on, she loves Argentinians.

Xime and Rolu are still crying. She tells him she untied him and he can leave. She's going to close her eyes and count to ten, when she opens them she wants him gone because she doesn't want to see him leave. Xime sits on the end of the bed and starts counting. Rolu is completely tortured, sits in front of her gets all up in her face and scares the heck out of her when she opens her eyes. "Rolu you scared me! OK you need more time. I'll count to twenty." Xime doesn't want to say goodby to him. He tells her he doesn't want to say goodbye either. His brother's coming and she organized a fiesta, er a mega party for him. Rolu wants to give Arnoldo his party. Xime says his bro's mega party can also be their goodbye party, a welcome and goodbye party at the same time.

Over at the arena Monita is warming up while Don Cesar is giving her last minute advice, jab constantly with the left, again and again. Beto tries to give his two cents worth but Moni tells him to shut it, their story line is over. They start to go at it but DC intervenes and tells her to be calm, concentrate on her fight. However he allows them to have a moment alone with strict instructions to Beto not to make Moni mad. Beto tries to recall the old days before Mauricio and Coni and Furia but Moni spits back at him that she's entering a new era, one without Beto AND Mau.

Out in the arena Estrella is trying to head off trouble between Coni and Furia by telling Coni that aliens aren't allowed in their world. Now beat it! Coni blows them a nasty kiss which Estrella catches and throws over her shoulder. Good one Estre. She tells Furia she's afraid that Coni suspects something but our ignorant insect reassures her that everything will be fine.

The rest of the Mau family shows up accompanied by Ivan and Tere and Aldo shows them to their seats.

Aldo has a final chat with Furia about his disguise and how he's going to handle the party. He also has Furia sign an autograph as if that will throw Coni off the scent but Coni hasn't taken her eyes off Furia. Meanwhile Estrella watches Coni like a hawk.

Tomorrow: It looks like Monita has a very good night in the ring.

Vocabulary:

Algo bien grueso = something very heavy
Bien instalada = properly installed, comfortably placed
Dar en la torre - smack upside the head, knock some sense into someone to teach someone a lesson. Put someone in a tough spot. (Lit. teach the tower, tower being one's head or maybe a chess piece? Not sure.)
Garras = claws, talons
Mala como foto de licencia = as bad as a license photo
Mueganos = fried dough bits covered in caramel
Una nefasta = a bad sign, a disgrace
Lo nuestro raya es historia = our line (story line) is history
Padríssimo = doesn't suck

Labels: gancho

Alternate title: Why are the villains smarter than the heroes?

Hi, folks. This is episode 136 of about 220 episodes. We remarked last week that the show seemed to be almost wrapped up. Apparently, though, it was extended. How do writers extend shows? Two ways. Introduce a new character, or give us shows with lots of talking, but in which nothing really happens (like every Seinfeld episode). They’ve combined both approaches, as we have a new character (Rolu’s brother), and just about nothing happened today (except lots of talking).

I’m going to New York Saturday for another Metropolitan Opera, so I may not be able to give you too much detail of the nothing that happened, but I’ll give it a shot. This time, I’m seeing the opera Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck (no, not the pop singer who sang Release Me in 1967, whose real name was Arnold George Dorsey, the real Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer who wrote Hänsel und Gretel in 1893). It’s a beautiful work, and of course concerns two innocent children, who get lost in the woods, only to be captured by an Evil Witch. Hmmm, OUR novela has two “lost children” (Moni and Mau), who are sort of captured by an Evil Witch. But there’s a problem. Connie can’t cook, so that oven thing’s not happening. Oh well, let’s check out the “nothing” that DID happen.

We begin by revisiting the scene where Estrella is in bed, having just fainted. We never do find out what was wrong with her in this episode. Moni tells Estre and Paula that she’s invited both Mau AND Furia to Xime’s party, and no, she’s not going to forgive Mauricio. In fact, she wants him to see that she’s moved on with her life, and has a man by her side. Estre thinks it’s low to use jealousy as a weapon, but Moni says she really does have feelings for La Furia. If she could fall in love again, it could be with him. She goes off to get dressed up for a lunch or dinner date with Furia. As she goes, Estre (who knows that Mau and Furia can’t possibly meet each other), mutters, what a mess (qué bronca), although Paula doesn’t really know the half of it.

Mau is at Furia-central, wearing the costume without the mask, as Aldo relates Estrella’s fainting incidents. Mau feels that Aldo is demonstrating that he is more grown up than before. Although he’s seeing Estrella, he’s maintaining both his grades (calificaciónes) and his job. Mau then tells how his situation with Moni is getting dangerous. She now has feelings for La Furia. He’s sort of fallen into his own trap – he wanted to be close to Monita, but now she’s attracted to another guy – La Furia. Aldo thinks it’s funny, you’re jealous of yourself? Mau says it’s not that simple. There’s also the question of how Moni will react when she finds out that Furia is Mau. Mau betrayed her, and she might think that Furia betrayed her, too. But he doesn’t think it’ll be too long before this all comes to pass, because Moni invited him to Xime’s party tonight after Moni’s title bout. And Moni also invited Furia, who couldn’t say no. Well, how are you gonna pull this off? questions Aldo. Mau has no idea.

Rolu’s brother Arnoldo is having trouble untying Rolu from the ropes Ximena used to tie him to the bed. Why? He’s constantly replacing the torn tissues he has to use to prevent his hands from touching those icky germs that are everywhere. Rolu threatens if Arnie doesn’t pick up the pace, he’ll spit on him! So get a move on. Arnie has one bag of clean tissues and one of used, and it’s not so easy to protect his little fingers from that nasty stuff that’s all over everything.

Luisa and Katia have come to visit Ivan, let’s go to a club. Ivan asks if they have Mau’s permission, and Katia wonders if he’s a fraidy-cat. No, it’s just that he promised Mau he wouldn’t go behind his back. Well, don’t worry, Teresa okayed it, and they can also go to the fight and Xime’s party later. Ivan suggests getting Aldo and Estrella to go, too, since Mau’s given his permission for them to be a couple. Luisa doesn’t like this. It’s not fair. Aldo gets everything, and my Dad is so strict with me!

Arnie’s just about to untie one of Rolu’s feet. He hyperventilates, blows on his fingers, but he can’t do it! Fine, says Rolu, just untie one arm, that’s it. Ximena is going to be back really soon, and since you see she tied me up, she’ll probably tie you up, too, with a dirty, disgusting rope, how would you like that? This does the trick. Arnie holds his breath, closes his eyes, and quickly unties one of Rolu’s hands. Rolu gets the rest of the ropes off, and Arnie wants to get out of this dirt den fast! He grabs his tissue bags, Rolu packs his suitcase, they’re down the steps, and out the ----wait a minute, Rolu can’t do it. Huh?

Lalu is getting ready the final preparations for the mega-party, when Ximena rushes in, her life is in chaos. She breathlessly explains that while Lalu had tons of things to do, she only had one responsibility – to pick up Rolu’s brother at the airport. And she blew it. She couldn’t find him, and has no idea where he is. Rolu’s going to be so mad. Lalu tries to console her.

Rolu explains to Arnie that he can’t leave Xime alone. He doesn’t know why, but he really loves her, and can’t walk out on her. So, brother, you’ll just have to tie me up again, and put in the gag. He goes upstairs as Arnie sputters nervously, thinking Rolu needs therapy more than HE does.

Ivan, Luisa and Katia are just about to head out, when the music turns dark, and evil drums play. Oh, and Connie’s in the neighborhood. Looking smashing in a tight white long sleeved sweater and black pants, she strides purposefully up to Beto’s door, and knocks. In the background, La Monita, all gussied up for her lunch date with Furia, spies the intruder. Moni’s wearing a red sweater over a tight white dress with a purple belt, looking hotter than we’ve seen her in quite some time. She tells Connie she’s pretty brazen (descarada) to openly come to the vecindad and seek out her lover. Said lover, looking a bit shy, ambles out, and Connie says she wants to take him out to a restaurant.

Moni criticizes Beto for losing all his dignity, and for falling into La Momia’s traps. Beto wants Moni to treat his lady with respect, but Moni doesn’t think she deserves any. She’s about to boil over with rage, until La Furia arrives, and it’s time for a little my guy’s better than your guy. Moni gives a warm hug to a befuddled Furia, and informs Connie and Beto that this just happens to be her novio! Connie thinks it’s kind of cute, but Beto’s not so happy about this new development. How can Moni like this guy, who also has a thing for Estrella? Moni wonders how can Beto like Connie, who’s also married to Mauricio? She puts her arms around Furia’s neck, let’s boogie on outta here. The two couples head out, but they’re not done yet. Both Connie and Furia seem to want to get going, but Beto and Moni keep challenging each other. Beto’s mad at Furia for messing with “his” Monita. But Moni wants nothing to do with him. Now she’s got an upstanding guy (hecho y derecho) who’s honest, and doesn’t trick her (famous last words). The two couples finally go off to their respective lunch dates.

Lalu is trying to console Xime. Just untie Rolu, and let him leave, he treats you horribly. But Xime can’t, she loves Rolu more than anyone else in the world. Oh, open your eyes, replies Lalu. This guy doesn’t love you, he makes fun of you right in front of your nose. He even had a lover in your bed, remember? Xime admits he’s right. Although she’ll die of sadness, maybe she should let Rolu go.

However, Rolu, no longer under the grip of those ropes, is finally gripped by the force that is Xime, and is desperate for Arnie to retie him, although Arnie wants to wash his hands a few times first. Arnie thought this wife was crazy, why does Rolu want to stay with her? Rolu admits that his wife is a bit crazy, and sometimes he wants her to disappear, but then he’s smitten by her tenderness, her innocence, in fact, Arnie himself will not be able to resist falling in love with her. Even Arnie has to lower his glasses at that one. Rolu tells Arnie that Xime’s preparing a super fiesta to welcome Arnie, and he doesn’t want to mess up her plans, so hurry up and tie me back up. Then wait outside the door, and when she shows up, tell her you arrived on your own, knocked on the door, and there was no answer, so you decided to wait.

Rolu can’t believe Arnie still has this dumb phobia about germs (he says microbios). You’ve had it since childhood. How much have you spent on tissues? You keep washing your hands, but guess what, brother? The air you breathe is FULL of germs. This revelation drives Arnie to a new round of hand washing.

Back in the vecindad, the coast is clear, so Ivan, Luisa and Katia head out. Katia’s embarrassed at how brazen her sister is. Luisa wants to know about this Furia guy, she doesn’t want Moni to go with HIM, her Papá loves Moni. Katia thinks HER problems are worse. Aldo doesn’t give her the time of day, her mother is a disaster, and she hates her sister. Ivan wisely counsels that the three of them can’t solve any of these problems, so let’s just have fun, and go to the dance club.

Xime’s sad that the decorations are so perfect (she even likes the napkins in the shape of chickens – Lalu corrects her, they’re swans), but the party’s going to be a failure because there’s no Arnie. Lalu says we should celebrate your liberation from Rolu. Xime doesn’t think that’s a good thing to celebrate, it’s like having 5 liters of ice-cream, but having to eat it alone. Lalu says Rolu’s not worth it (he says Rolu’s not worth a barquillo, which is an ice cream cone), and that’s fattening anyway. He says men are like money bills. You keep the big bills, and spend the twenties, which get handled the most (they’re the most manoseado). And your husband’s like one of those bills. Xime asks if he’s like those overused bills that get taken out of circulation, and Lalu says that’s right. He tells Xime she’s a gem (una moneda de colleción, which would be a rare coin), and Rolu’s not worth ten cents. Swear to me you’ll finally get rid of that blemish (lacra) on your life, and be done with him. She shakes her head, she just can’t do it.

Rolu’s finally retied, and re-gagged, as Arnie wipes the sweat from his brow. Arnie tells Rolu he’s shocked at the change in his brother. Formerly, he was a race car driver, with tons of girls. Now he’s married, the woman has him tied to his bed, and he LIKES it. That’s not my brother. Rolu tries to protest, but since he’s gagged now, we (and Arnie) can’t understand a word he says. Arnie doesn’t care, Rolu can do what he wants, but (trying to stuff the rest of his tissues into his little plastic bags), he does have one bit of advice for Rolu – therapy.

Lalu is still trying to convince Xime. Your marriage is like the Titanic, and it’s sunk, since you don’t have Celine (Dion) to sing that song. You’re like Consti, who forced her husband to marry her. No way, I’m completely different, says Xime. It’s not the same, although it is the same (no es lo mismo, aunque sea igual, this works better in Spanish). Lalu keeps insisting, and Xime finally agrees, and says her three things. 1) She’s going to give up Rolu to make her girlfriend (Lalu) happy 2) she’s going to do it despite how much she loves him, and 3) with all the pain in her heart, this very day, she’ll give him his freedom. Lalu’s happy for her, but Xime’s in tears.

Restaurant time. First, we have Connie and Beto. They’re both talking about Moni, but sort of to themselves. Connie wants Moni to suffer, but Beto wants to be in Furia’s place, to get Moni back. Connie pokes Beto, stop interrupting my anger! Beto can’t believe his soul brother would double cross him with La Monita. Connie can’t believe Beto can be so brazen as to continue his affection for Monita right in front of her. Beto responds look who’s talking (el comal le digo a la olla, the griddle said to the pot, or that’s like the pot calling the kettle black). But hunger calls. Waiter!

In another restaurant (I think – typically they’d all be in the same one), Moni and La Furia sit down to their meal. Moni says it’s a shame Furia can’t eat because of that mask. Furia says she nourishes his spirit, his hunger can wait. But couldn’t he just take off the mask a little? Furia’s insistent, she knows he has to protect his identity. Moni’s still a little mad about the brazenness of La Momia. By the way, Furia, what do you think of her? Can you see how bad she is? Well, Furia only met her once at the gym, but he thinks neither her money nor her classy manner can hide her bitterness, and she’s nothing compared with the beauty of Monita, and the joy she radiates. Moni’s radiating at this point, smiling, edging closer and closer to her mystery man.

In a parallel scene, Connie asks Beto what’s up with this luchador? Beto gets mad, picks up his fork as a weapon, if Connie has a thing for that Furia guy, he’ll KILL both Furia and Connie. But Connie reassures her honeybun (bizcocho) she has eyes only for Beto, she’s just curious about that wrestler. Beto says that no one knows anything about Furia, he just showed up one day, Don Cesar introduced him. Wheels turning in her head, Connie inquires just when that was. Beto thinks it was just after Connie married Mau, and prohibited Mau from seeing La Monita. Hmmmm. Connie’s mind is putting together pieces, as Beto continues to enjoy his soda.

Moni continues to flirt with Furia, apologizing for calling him her novio, although she wouldn’t mind it, and defending her idea of introducing Mau to Furia at the party tonight, not to make Mau jealous, but to show him she can continue with her life after he betrayed her. Furia says he could never be mad with her, he’s here to help her, and takes her hand gently.

Beto has to leave now, but Connie wants him to stay, she was hoping to spend the afternoon together, wants him to do dirty things to her, she’s really tense. This gets Beto going, and he starts feeling her legs under the table, saying Don’t tempt me (no me tientes, no me tientes). But….right now, he can’t. He has to go see Moni’s championship fight, she’s going to win her title back. Connie’s appalled, why do you care about that chimpanzee? Beto says something like As the butcher said to the meat, let’s split up (como dijo el descuartizador , vámanos por partes). He adds that if Connie can live with Mau but go out with Beto, why can’t he go out with Connie, but go see La Monita? In fact, if Connie doesn’t let him do this, maybe he’s through with her. Connie gets a hurt, soft look, gently takes Beto’s hand, don’t be mad, it’s okay, you can go. But you know what? I want to go, too! Beto has to munch another french fry to get his head around this one.

Over in restaurant 2, Furia signs his autograph for some kids. Moni’s impressed with Furia’s fame. Furia points out that she’s a famous boxer too, but Moni laments that the public doesn’t care too much about women boxers. And wrestling is really popular. Pretty soon, Furia won’t be able to walk the street (in this costume) without being mobbed by fans. Furia hopes that doesn’t happen. Moni then looks Furia in the eye, says that although she feels comfortable with him, she still wonders why he’s so insistent that he can’t take off his mask, even with her. What’s he afraid of? What does he have to hide? The camera zooms in on that masked face.

Beto asks Connie, but you don’t even like boxing, do you? She shows him she does by punching his arm 3 or 4 times. So why do you want to go to the fight? Connie says it’s her own private affair (asunto). And she’s going, period, honeybun. She actually does that lizard tongue thing Beto does, and gives him a slurpy kiss. Beto likes this, takes another bite of food, and as he wipes his mouth with the tablecloth, he reminds Connie not to cause a scandal, okay? Don’t worry, says Connie, I’ll just go and act like any other naco, don’t you trust me? In truth, no. But she gets all sexy again, tells him if he’s mad, he’ll just have to hold it in. Well, Beto can’t quite hold in all he’s eaten and drunk, so he goes to the bathroom. As he leaves, she replays a few things in her mind. Aldo had some secret with Mau, and they wouldn’t tell Luisa. And an earlier time, Aldo said to Mau “Don’t criticize me. You do the same thing. You also lie to people. Why don’t you tell Constanza just who that Furia Enmascarada is!” Connie’s face lights up. She’s pretty sure she knows EXACTLY who that Furia Enmascarada is.

So ends our episode of nothing. But it was enjoyable nevertheless. Sylvia should have part two up by late Sunday or early Monday (something to do with a boat, California, the usual). Bye all, I’m off to New York!

Labels: gancho

Discussion post for the Jan. 1 episode.

Labels: amor

Happy New Year to all and everyone!!!! Feliz ano nuevo y todo maravilla para 2010!!!!

I almost forgot it was Wed last night. Yipes! I haven't managed to see the episode yet but I'll finish the post again in pieces before tomorrow, so feel free to discuss!!

Labels: gancho

Replay of Victoria and Fernando.... I wonder what all his little tattoos are.

Katia wants to get together with Bruno to talk about the things her brother has been telling her. Bruno says he will explain tomorrow.

Bruno talks with the board guys about the vote and Bruno does his clicking with his mouth and I want to slap him.

Bruno calls Erick to find out where Pedro lives. Erick asks Arturo who tells Erick that Pedro has a shop in at the market. Erick climbs into the car to have a little chat with Arturo asking about his work. He looks like he starts to say something and changes his mind.

Felipe wants to get a hold of Mario for I don't know why, EZ wrote that number down some time ago. So why didn't he ever give it to Ale? EZ gives it up for Felipe so that she can call Mario Aguirre. Well we know who has Mario's phone now.

Ale, at his desk that is draped with Maura, hears Mario's phone ringing and answers it. Ale discovers that Mateo is Mario Aguirre. He asks Felipe if she is sure that this is the number. Felipe calls right back and says she was just checking if the number was the same. Ale then decides to ask Maura what she knows about Sandra, and she says that Sandra is a twin to MJ. Ale says you didn't tell me ? Maura says why ?

Bruno pays Pedro a little visit to bully him into having him convince MJ to cast her vote for Bruno or else he is will see his friend Rufino who will denounce him. Bruno turns and around and sees that Meche and Gabriel are still in the land of the living.

Victoria gets home and bounces on her bed. She is very happy. She tells Felipe and then Fernando calls to tell her how very much he loves her.

Fernando comes back to the office still glowing, and tells Ale how much he adores Victoria and what a great day is was, when Ale puts his fire out because he is distracted with all his problems with his sister and Bruno. Ale goes on to say that the phone is one that Mario Aguirre used. Ale tells Fer how Sandra is a real person. That Roberto, Maura, and Useless all confirmed it. Her mothers name is Elena . Fernando tells Ale that his uncles friend is the ex father-in-law of Elena Kruger.

MJ, Victoria, Felipe and Cuco are out for a nice healthy stroll when Wreckhell, who is mad as *ell, comes and spits that Useless didn't want to leave until MJ dressed herself up as a prostitute to seduce him. MJ doesn't know what she is talking about. Victoria says to calm down. Rachel out of control says that MJ has made her life miserable ever since she came. Cuco is barking his head off, Rachel tries to kick him and then Rachel grabs MJ and Victoria is trying to break them up cause they are both pregnant. Rachel gets loose of Victoria and now she has knocked MJ down. Victoria calls for Thomas, EZ and Arturo who pull her off of MJ. Rachel is hysterical and MJ is looking at her like what the ****?

Elena is on the phone with Useless. Useless tells her that Sandra escaped with his money. Useless says that he will find her. Mateo calls Useless to report the phone with the photo is gone.

Hernan is there checking on MJ. Ale, is upset. MJ has scratches on her face, but otherwise is ok. Hernan says that Rachel needs to go to a clinic for treatment her the baby will be born with fetal acholism. Victoria and Hernan leave to go talk to her now. Alex tells MJ they need to get out of there. DuH. MJ agrees.

Wreckhell, still hysterical screeches to Roberto about MJ. Roberto yelling also, says that to Useless boys and girls are the same. Rachell throws her drink in face. Roberto says he is the one that Useless was with .Rachel starts hitting him. Roberto, turning away, says men and women are the same, and it is not important. Now if we didn't already think that Wreckhell was mad, well..... now she is rabid. She picks up a butcher knife and plunges into Robertos back, pulls it out and plunges it in again as Roberto falls to the ground.

Hernan and Victoria come in just then and Hernan restrains Rachel. He tells Victoria to call Ale. Victoria calls Ale and tells him that they need an ambulance. Ale runs down the stairs, tells EZ to call the hospital for an ambulance and runs all the way to Rachels's. Hernan is back with his little black bag when Ale gets there. He has given Rachel a tranquilizer to calm her. Ale asks what happened? Victoria gets towels to put on Roberto's back. Hernan tell Ale that Rachel stabbed him, and tells Ale to get rid of the knife. Ale wraps the knife in a towel.

Bruno is having a meal with Katia whom he tells that everything that Fernando is saying is a lie, and everything is just a coincidence. Anyway she can believe him or not, but this relationship is over. Katia crying follows him out telling Bruno she is in love with him. Bruno says Adios Katia.

Hernan is at the hospital now, Roberto with his back bandaged and a nurse in the room. Hernan is hooking up blood for Roberto when he flatlines. They turn him over and do the paddles.

Ale is telling MJ what he knows that Rachel put a knife in Roberto's back and she is sleeping now before he could get an explanation. EZ knocks and says the police are here. MJ tells Ale she is really worried.

Ale goes down and talks to the police. He tells them that he supposes it was an assailant. Ale takes the police over to Rachel's to look it over. The police ask about the weapon, and Ale says they didn't see one. Now the police want to talk to Rachel and Ale goes upstairs. The police ask EZ if he saw anything?

Ale comes back down and says he is sorry, that his sister is sedated. The agent is looking around the kitchen. He wants to know where the knife is that was used for cutting the lemons.

In the waiting room of the hospital, Hernan comes to tell Victoria that they had a cardiac incident but for now he is stable. Victoria says Ale called and the police are there.

Erick tells Bruno about Roberto going to the hospital. Bruno is more interested in ripping into him about lying about Meche and Gabriel. He punches him in the stomach. I don't think Erick liked that.

Ale is telling EZ that Roberto is stable and that they keep their story to the police correct.

Ale sees Bruno going up the stairs and escorts him out of the house. Then he gets in his car and drives away. Ale is not using his gray matter.

Bruno waits til Ale leaves then is up knocking on MJ's door. Paula asks what he wants. He wants to talk to MJ and Paula says her sister does not want to talk to him. Bruno says that if MJ doesn't vote for him her father will be jailed. MJ calls her father and asks him if Bruno has contacted him. Pedro says no. MJ thinks it is just threats.

Bruno goes to Rachel room, kicks everyone out and tells Rachel that he needs her vote for the presidency. Raquel groggily asks if Roberto is dead. Bruno says he doesn't know.

Fernando now arrives to the hospital. He says that Ale called him. They talk about Roberto's condition. Ale arrives. Victoria says they need to get a hold of the board and cancel the meeting for tomorrow. Hernan comes out and says the Roberto has a pierced lung. Ale calls MJ to give her the news. MJ tells Paula that Roberto is having an operation.

Hernan tells Victoria that they sutured the wound, she should go home, there is nothing she can here. Victoria talks to Hernan about committing Rachel for rehabilitation. Hernan says it would be better if they had her consent. Victoria says she will go talk to her. Victoria and and Fernando leave. Felipe thanks Hernan for all his work and also leaves.

Ale asks Hernan his opinion and Hernan says Roberto has a very serious wound to his lung.

Ale calls and fills MJ in. MJ asks about Vitoria and Ale.

Victoria is at the bedside of Rachel. The nurse says she will be out all night and Victoria should get some sleep. Felipe agrees and talks her into leaving. Fernando is waiting. They tell each other they love each other. Hugs.

Hernan tells Ale that Roberto is in intensive care, that he has blood between walls of his lungs. Hernan asks Ale where the knife is? Ale says in is office. Henan says to get it out of there. If the police search and find it then Ale will be accused.

Ale and MJ in la cama. Ale is asleep and MJ tells him how he is her everything! They sleep with their arms wrapped around each other.

Next day EZ escorts the police to Raquel's where Victoria and Raquel are waiting. EZ has them wait out side while he announces them. Victoria asks EZ to get Ale quickly. The police come in.... That is all folks.

Labels: sortilegio

Carloca wants German to convince PJC to go along with her plans.

Gabriel and Luz are walking in the park. Luz is telling Gabriel that she will be moving in with Rafa. They spot Paloma moping alone on a park bench and Gabriel goes to talk to her. She tells him she hopes time flies quickly so that she can leave Real del Monte. Gabriel says that what he most likes about her is her wings. No matter how much they try to make her stay she wants to fly away. Paloma mentions that is what her mother use to say to her. Emiliano comes across them talking and stares. Romina comes up and tells him that Paloma just goes from one man to another. Emiliano says that's not true. Of course it is replies Romina. Paloma told me so herself. I saw her after school and the mother superior begged me to come to the graduation so I couldn't say no. So you will be accompanying me. Paloma gets a call from Liliana to meet at the store so that she can help her pick out a dress. BLAH, BLAH. Paloma can't afford one, but Gabriel tells her to use some of the money she got from selling her paintings. You deserve it.

Dr. Bermudez and Rufi talk about Paloma and the situation involving PJC and Natalia. Rufi asks if German is the attorney who is handling Rojas things while he's away. Yes, replies Bermudez. Why? Rufi tells him that German has been going to the house to visit with Carloca. He also takes care of PJC's case. Bermudez smells something fishy.

Paloma is walking to meet with Liliana and comes across Romina and Emiliano. Of course Romina shouts out a greeting and asks Paloma to get her 4 tickets to the graduation. Paloma says fine and tries to leave. Of course Romina stops her and asks her if she will be going with her art teacher. Yes, replies Paloma and leaves. Emiliano is very jealous.

PJC is in his jail cell and ugly guy comes up behind him with rope to choke him. PJC slams ugly guy up against the wall to get away and then throws him out. Ugly guy threatens him and PJC's cellmate runs up and asks if he's okay. PJC says he's fine and doesn't want him to say anything to anyone else.

Orlando visits Natalia in jail and promises to help her.

Liliana and Paloma look at dresses for the graduation. Liliana picks out a pretty dress for Paloma, but she declines. I'm sure she'll pick something ugly. Past looks prove that. Liliana says they have to look their best because Romina will be there.

Emiliano and Romina go and look for baby furniture. Emiliano spots a happy couple and thinks to himself if only this baby was ours Paloma.

Angelica investigates and finds out that Dario registered her book the day after she gave it to him. You betrayed me you jerk.

Diana is playing poker with some other ladies in her ugly wig, extensions, whatever. HA-HA. Samuel's in the background. I think karma's going to bite Diana in the hind end.

Luz is so excited about Rafa's apartment. She brought groceries to cook for him. Smart girl. Men loved a home cooked meal.

Samuel comes up and offers to help the ladies with their game. We don't know you replies one lady. Diana remembers that he's Camila's ex and he joins the ladies. Diana and Samuel slimy smile at each other.

Angelica calls Orlando and gets voicemail. She leaves a message telling him that she will not be able to go to the office tomorrow. She still has not fixed her problem yet. She'll call back sometime tomorrow.

Paloma tells Rufi that she went dress shopping, but can't afford the dress. Rufi tells her to get it and she'll pay for it as a gift. She has no one to spend her money on. That way she can look like a young lady. Paloma decides she'll pay for it instead.

Angelica calls the editor lady that gave her Dario's manuscript to read and asks her to call Dario so that she can tell him face to face that she will be editing his book. She wants to surprise him. I hope she brings along a bat to beat him with. Anyway the lady agrees.

Carloca talks to someone on the phone and wants German to handle all her affairs now instead of Rojas.

The editor lady calls Angelica back and tells her that Dario agreed to come to the office tomorrow. Angelica thanks her and hangs up with a crazy look in her eyes.

Carloca yells for Paloma to hurry up to go to school. She starts fixing Paloma's bed and glances at her nightstand. There in an envelope is a huge amount of cash. Of course Paloma is not smart enough to hide it. Anyway Carloca wants to know in what bad things she's mixed in to have such a large amount of money.

PJC gets a visit from the archbishop and Padre Benito. The archbishop fires/suspends/terminates PJC's priestly duties.

Carloca accuses Paloma of bad behavior with her art teacher. They argue and Carloca wants her to distance herself from Gabriel and Dr. Bermudez. Paloma disagrees. I am a woman that wants to fly. Carloca belittles her. Paloma says I am not a little girl nor am I stupid. So don't treat me that way. Carloca says he wants to take you to bed. Paloma argues again and takes the money from Carloca and leaves.

Rafa is in bed sleeping when Luz comes in with breakfast. Damn she is laying in on thick. I've been married for 10 years and not once have taken breakfast to hubby in bed. He has 2 legs to carry him to the kitchen. Anyway he wants to get up from bed to go to work. They play fight and she tells him that he will not be going to the office. Breakfast is spilt all over the bed. And that is why I don't do breakfast in bed. Hubby is too accident prone and I'm too hot tempered. It'll never work. Rafa calls Joel and tells him that he will not be coming in today. Joel is shocked and guesses it's because of Luz.

Inez gets another letter under her door and opens the door quickly to find Juancho is her secret admirer.

One of the lawyers in the office informs German that he is Carloca's new lawyer. German is happy.

Carloca visits Paloma's first art teacher and wants the number to the guy who bought all the paintings from Paloma. Why asks the lady art teacher. Carloca tells her that she's concerned about all the money he gave Paloma for the paintings and doesn't want things to be misinterpreted. Lady art teacher defends Gabriel and his dad, but gives her the number anyway along with Gabriel's number and address.

Inez accepts having a relationship with Juancho.

Lady editor and Angelica are in her office waiting for Dario. Angelica asks if she can give him the news in private. Lady editor agrees. She leaves as soon as she gets word that he has arrived.

Orlando and Emiliano are talking about Angelica and wonder what's going on.

Dario walks in and sees Angelica. His smile fades and he asks her what she is doing their. Surprised to see me asks Angelica and bitch slaps him. He says he wants to explain. She grabs him by his collar and says what do you want to explain? That you took advantage of me again and stole my book? He tells her he was desperate. Angelica says I am so stupid to have trusted you. You came to Real del Monte in the pretense of helping me and you only wanted to steal it from me. Dario says yes I did, but no one has to know about it. (good time for her to bring out the bat)

PJC is sitting in his cell talking to god and begs him not to leave him.

Dario says his name may be in the book, but the money will be for her. Angelica starts yelling at him. Editor lady comes in wondering what's going on and Angelica says to her that Dario stoled her book. Dario of course denies it and editor lady begs Angelica not to cause a scene. She doesn't understand what Angelica gains from lying. Of course Dario has a smirk on his face. Angelica begs editor lady to believe her, but of course she doesn't.

German tells Emiliano that PJC has been expelled from the priesthood. Emiliano wants to help, but German says if the church doesn't back PJC up then no one will believe in their innocence. Emiliano wants to know if Paloma knows yet. German says he'll tell her , but Emiliano says he will.

German tells PJC he is sorry about his expulsion from the priesthood. PJC wants German to personally tell Paloma about what's going on.

Angelica is walking down the street crying and calling herself an idiot. I agree. If there is absolutely nothing you can do to get your book back then go all ape crazy on his ass and beat the snot out of him. No I do not condone violence, but sometimes you have to teach people a lesson and have them know not to mess with you. I'm just saying.

Emiliano tries calling Paloma and ends up leaving her a message to call him back about PJC.

Carloca yells at Gabriel to quit selling fantasies to Paloma that she will be a great painter. Also I forbid you and your father from giving Paloma excessive amounts of money. I do not like your intentions. Are you done asks Gabriel. I'm not playing replies Carloca. You do not know who you are messing with. Gabriel says a person is known for their words and it's obvious that I am in front of a woman that thinks she can control everything. And wants to cut her niece's wings. Carloca gets pissed and tells him to respect her. Gabriel says then do the same to me. Now it's time you leave. Carloca is appalled that he is throwing her out. Paloma walks in on this. Gabriel again tells Carloca to leave his house now. Carloca stares at him with her mouth opened in shock. Paloma says "Tia"? Carloca whirls around and is surprised to see Paloma.

Manana: Emiliano admits his jealousy; PJC gets stabbed and Carloca is going loca with the news.

Labels: amor

But first, a bit of review: Erick gives Rufino the "our lawyers can get you out for the low, low price of narcing on Pedro" infomercial; Bruno explains to Katia that he can't get busted with a minor and makes her cry; Roberto is ready to turn over a new leaf, shave off the soul patch, be a working stiff, and support his as-yet-unborn daughter. Maybe I'm making up the soul patch part.

Ulises gets a call from Mateo, who's back in town. They're going to meet at Ulises' place in 20.

Felipa brings Vicky tea. Vicky is worried about Raquel, wanting to abort and then saying she'll give the baby to Roberto. She thinks Raquel's life is crap and all her decisions are leading her farther down the path to Crappsville. And also, Fernando hasn't called, wah! What are you, twelve? Felipa tries to talk her into being the one to call first, but Fernando calls right then. He wants to get together, but not at her house. He suggests going to the archeological site and having some dinner out there. She hesitates, but gives in to his begging in the end. He tells her some of the construction has already started.

Ulises has a suitcase packed. Mateo comes over. Ulises fires him, and hands over his severance pay. He reminds him not to talk. Mateo tries to weasel his way into staying in Ulises' apartment, since Ulises is going to go fetch Sandra. Not gonna happen. Ulises shows him out, then rolls his suitcase on outta there.

Mateo skulks by the gate and watches Uli get into a taxi.

Vicky explains to Alex that she hadn't told him about Raquel's crazy mood swings and wanting to maybe abort the baby because she figured he had enough problems already. Alex says he always thought that Roberto was the one who didn't want kids, so he's confused because now Roberto is talking about trading the baby for a divorce. Vicky tells him that Raquel isn't sure if the baby is Roberto's or Ulises'. Alex looks disgusted. He asks what they can do, but Vicky doesn't know. She's upset that Raquel has been drinking since she found out she was pregnant. She never imagined so much bad stuff would happen to the family, and worse stuff than seems to happen in other families. "What have I done!" She says children are doomed to repeat their parents' mistakes and this is God's way of punishing her. Alex says that's crap--how would that theory explain all the things that have happened to him? Vicky supposes that Raquel and Bruno are so messed up because she's just a bad person, but Alex turned out ok because his mom was better than her. Alex won't hear that either--she bore him, but Vicky raised him and that makes her his mom. Vicky thinks maybe it was genes. "Yeah, well, look at Cain and Abel." Vicky laughs. Alex says if people blame all their problems on their parents, then we'd just end up having to blame it all on Adam and Eve. Well, some people do.

Felipa has been buying baby things, mostly in blue, but with a little yellow thrown in. MaryJo is pleased and thinks the baby will look cute in the "mamelucos" (rompers, overalls). Alex comes in, smiling, and Felipa leaves to avoid being "mal tercio" (a "bad third", a third wheel). Alex sends her to go comfort Vicky while he gossips with MaryJo about Raquel's pregnancy woes. Here's what I don't get--why does Raquel know the sex of the baby, but she's not hiding a basketball under her clothes, while MaryJo is teetering around like an olive speared on a toothpick but I haven't heard discussion about the sex of their baby? Anyway, Alex has had it with all the liberalism going on between Raquel, Roberto, and Ulises and doesn't think it's appropriate to be procreating willy-nilly. He's going to go have The Talk with Ulises and see if he'll man up and support his offspring or if he's already moved on to his next shag. He kisses MaryJo goodbye and leaves to get it over with right away.

He goes to Raquel to have her call and set up a meeting, but Uli isn't answering his phone. Alex asks for the address. Raquel makes a big deal out of not wanting Ulises to marry her by force, but I think that's her way of saying she wants him any way she can get him. Still not noting a belly under that flowy shirt, but it sure does make her ass look bigger. Maybe she's carrying in the back?

Mateo has broken in to Uli's apartment and refuses to open the door for Alex. Alex keeps banging on the door until Mateo lets him in. Mateo says Uli lent him the apartment, but he doesn't know when Uli will be back and he doesn't have his cell number. Alex snatches Mat's cell phone and gets violent when Mat objects. Alex gets hold of Ulises and tells him to come home so they can talk about Raquel's baby. Ulises refuses, saying he doesn't even know if the kid is his, and besides, he's got a "novia" (no way to tell from this context, probably he means "fiancée" and not "girlfriend" cause fiancée would imply "too bad, so sad, I already have a commitment to someone else") so thanks, but no thanks. Alex threatens to hunt him down and drag him back, but Ulises just hangs up on him. Alex tries to get the fiancée's name out of Mateo, but he doubts his word when he can't find a "Sandra" in Mat's cell phone. He does, however, find a picture of Sandra and asks why Mateo has a picture of his wife. Dude, don't be daft, you know damn well your wife doesn't have a crappy dye job and an assortment of piercings. Mateo tells him that the picture is of Sandra and Alex puts on his "thinking" face as we go to commercials. Come on, Alex, you've been a smart guy so far, don't let us down now!

In the taxi, Ulises makes a call to the number Elena gave him and gets hold of Sandra. Of course she remembers him, but when he asks if he should come get her she just starts laughing and leans over through some thick bamboo stakes in a pot and over the back of a chair, where some other bad-dye-job-having girl laughs with her.

Alex takes the cell phone over to Fernando. Fernando thinks the girl certainly looks like MJ, but has a whole different "look." Alex knows it can't actually be her, what with Mateo telling him the story of tracking her down in Culiacán, but damn if it doesn't look exactly like her. He thinks he may be getting paranoid, but he wonders if this is somehow Bruno's next trick to get to him. Awww, Bruno, you don't even have to do bad stuff anymore and people just assume it was you. Your legend is growing!

Sandra and Ulises are rolling around in bed. She says she has "la hostia" with him (a bloody good time). He calls her "flaquita" (little skinny girl). She complains that he left her, but he says he did it to teach her a lesson--she was so caught up in drugs and alcohol that she didn't notice how aggressive she was being with him. She says she's tried to quit, but the drugs are just stronger than she is. Ulises says he never understood how a girl like her, who had everything, would end up hooked on drugs. Sandra blames it on never having her mother's love. Mommy was always more worried about her husbands, starting with Sandra's "dad" Cristobal Betancourt (ok, so she doesn't remember Papi Pedro). She sent Sandra to Madrid to get her out of the way. Mommy only wants her to keep her grandpa from cutting off her inheritance. Uli needles her about wanting the money too, but Sandra thinks the old guy will leave it to her just because he doesn't have anyone else to leave it to. Ulises reminds Sandra that the old guy's kind of nuts, and she's going to have to put in some work to make sure she ends up with the money. Sandra thinks there's no point, cause if grandpa gets a good look at her, he'll realize she's an addict. And besides she doesn't want to go home because she can't stand her mother and she's scared of the current husband. Ulises says that he'll help her get clean and then they'll go to her house together. Sandra thinks this must prove his lover for her and they get back to nookie.

Fernando is of the opinion that the picture has been photoshopped, like the one of Alex and MaryJo that Bruno left at Pedro's place. Alex scratches that idea, because it wouldn't make sense for Bruno to have (a) sent Mateo to go find that woman or (b) for Mateo to have found her. Fernando suggests that question Mateo further and they two take off.

Mateo appears to have taken off. Alex bangs on the door, but gets no answer. Fernando wants him to chill and not cause a scene, but Alex is furious that this guy had a picture of his wife on his cell phone. Fernando suggests photoshopping again, but Alex reminds him the woman actually exists. Fernando suggests they're two different women, but now Alex says they're too much alike. Fernando suggests that maybe Alex needs to find out more about Pedro's family. Alex puts his "thinking" face on again.

Bruno knocks on the door to MaryJo's room. Just as I'm screaming at her not to be stupid and open the door, she locks it. Good girl! Through the door Bruno threatens her with having Pedro thrown in jail if she doesn't vote for him and she refuses. Ezequiel comes up with a tray and asks Bruno if he needs something. Bruno calls him a "viejo entrometido" (meddling old man) and flips the tray out of his hands (a sign of true evil if there ever was one) before stomping off.

As he's coming down the stairs Alex confronts him about being in the house, but Bruno just returns the question--after all, he and MJ are supposed to be divorced now. Whatever, dude, since when does that matter, especially with a kid in the mix. The sex I'd have a harder time rationalizing away, but hey, being divorced doesn't always mean hating each other. Didn't Liz Taylor get divorced from one of her many husbands and then marry the guy again? If it's good enough for La Liz…. Anyway, Alex asks who Sandra is, but Bruno doesn't know. Alex says that Ulises does. So what, says Bruno, Ulises is Roberto's friend, not his, and what does he care.

Upstairs, Alex sees Ezequiel and the overturned tray. Ezequiel lies to him and says that (a) he just dropped it and (b) Bruno was probably there to see Vicky. Alex helps him pick stuff up, helps Ezequiel get up, and declines an offer of dinner.

Sandra wakes up from her post-coital nap, downs a glass of something that was on the bedside table, and starts getting dressed while Ulises keeps on dreaming of large numbers of pesos.

And now, for your edification, Alex and MaryJo discuss topics of supreme importance:
MaryJo: Do you want dinner?
Alex: No, I'd rather just go to sleep.
MJ: Should I help you get undressed? (Te ayudo a desvestirte?)
A: I'd love for you to (Me encanto que lo hagas)
MJ: I like it even more (A mi me gusta todavía mas)
*smoochies*
A: Hey, don't do that, it's dangerous! (No hagas eso que es peligroso)
MJ: They're just little caresses (Son solamente pequeños cariñitos)
A: Not that little (Ni tan pequeños)

Now go forth and use this new vocab to your heart's content. Or the contentment of any other body part you deem appropriate. Who says TV's not educational?

Sandra, now dressed, is getting desperate. There's not even a freakin' cigarette left unsmoked in the hotel room. And she checks the butts left in the ashtray for viable candidates, so you know she's a pro. She finds Ulises' pants, containing his remaining cash and his wallet. She hesitates, but ends up taking his cash and leaving his wallet (or that's the consensus at Casa 5ft). She gulps down whatever alcohol was in his glass on his bedside table and takes off. Mr. 5ft and I also agree that we can't stand Sandra's techno theme.

Post-something, Alex and MJ sleep. Alex wakes her up to ask her if she ever had a twin sister. MJ doesn't think so. Alex tells her to ignore him and go back to sleep. Mkay. And I wouldn't assume they did anything too aerobic since he's still wearing his pants. Then again, maybe I'm just old fashioned that way.

Felipa insisted on making Fernando and Vicky a basket of food to take with them on their day trip. Felipa and Fernando kind of argue about it, but really there's no point arguing with Felipa. Ezequiel says she's as good a cook as she is stubborn. Ezequiel and Felipa see them off. Ezequiel asks Felipa if maybe Fernando likes Vicky, you know, like, likes her. Felipa tells him that lots of men like Vicky, but Ezequiel needs to butt out. Ezequiel helps Felipa up the stairs while she gripes about it.

Ulises finally wakes up. He keeps calling for Sandra, but doesn't find her. He finds his pants and exclaims "no cambia" (she doesn't change). Sandra is actually in a restaurant eating something, which surprises me, and drinking a beer, which doesn't. She ignores the call from Ulises to her cell phone.

Maura calls Alex to tell him about something she heard from his secretary. They're going to meet at the office, but he declines her offer of dinner. Alex and MaryJo have a fight about Maura being the one who called to tell him the board meeting is the following day. Alex doesn't like MaryJo acting so jealous. She tells him to tell Maura not to call him and that will put an end to her jealousy.

Alex goes downstairs and asks Ezequiel where his mother is. Ezequiel says she's out with Fernando. Alex looks pleased. So does Ezequiel for that matter.

Alex heads outside and sees Roberto, who is talking to some guy named Daniel. Alex greets him and then asks to speak with Roberto. He shows him the picture on the cell phone, but Roberto thinks it's MaryJo. Raquel comes sauntering up and grabs the cell phone and asks "What's your wife doing in this picture dressed up like a prostitute?" Alex tells her that it's not his wife, it's Sandra, Ulises' fiancée. Raquel reacts as if the name "Sandra" never came up and says MaryJo is the one who took Ulises away from her and how can Alex stand his wife going after other men. Roberto gives the phone back to Alex and walks Raquel away. He tells her to be reasonable, MaryJo's on the verge of giving birth, she's not going to dress up like a ho just to snare another man. Raquel insists that it must be her. Roberto walks her off again, but Alex wants to know what Roberto knows. Roberto says they'll talk later, at the office, as Raquel screams to Alex to tell his wife that she's going to rip her eyes out and kill her. Okay, in that outfit, Raquel did look pregnant, but for real pregnant, not abnormally skinny and smuggling a bowling ball.

Vicky and Fernando tour the town on a "truck" (that's what the guy called it--it's a little six person cart on a track pulled by a horse) and look at "cenotes" (underground pools)--not that we get to see them. They look at the shacks where the people will be selling stuff to tourists. The go into what's going to be the museum. They look at the playground for the kids. Apparently this is all new stuff. Fernando shows off his arm muscles on a piece of playground equipment (and Vicky shows off her lack of muscles on same).

At the shop, the gang have drinks and Alex comes to visit. "Licuado" (a shake or a fruit drink) is what Gabriel says they're drinking. Since Alex wants to talk to Pedro, Pedro says they'll go get some "horchata" nearby (a rice milk with cinnamon and vanilla--you can find powdered mix in the grocery store sometimes, but it probably tastes like powdered mix from the grocery store). Alex gives in. They make small talk about the girls. Alex starts the interrogation: "Does MaryJo have a twin sister." Pedro denies it. Alex says that recently someone has seen a girl who looks just like her, named Sandra. Oh, yeah, Pedro heard that from Roberto. They get to the horchata place, but Pedro orders them both "agua de jamaica" (a hibiscus infusion or tea). Alex shows Pedro the picture, but Pedro keeps denying. I can't believe he looked at a picture of his daughter who he hasn't seen in almost 30 years and his sense of self-preservation won out. Alex gives him the "you can trust me" speech, but Pedro keeps saying it's just one of those weird things that happens sometimes.

Alex walks Pedro back to the shop and leaves. Pedro tells Chucho that he lied to Alex because he doesn't want to have to tell the girls that he lied to them all this time. Chucho tells him it's all going to end up coming back on him when Alex figures it out himself.

Ulises is still trying to get hold of Sandra. Some drugged out guy at a party answers the phone. Sandra's asleep on the floor, so she doesn't respond when druggie guy asks for Sandra. Ulises asks him why he has the phone, but the guy just laughs and says it was "tirado" (thrown away, thrown on the floor) and he picked it up.

So now we get some cenote action. Vicky and Fernando walk down some stairs to look. Vicky says that if the Trevi Fountain can grant wishes, then this cenote must grant them too. She throws in a rock. The guy in charge of the excavation comes down to meet with Vicky, Fernando and Puch (the community leader). The excavation guy, Lazcano, found a new basement that looks like a ritual site. It looks like a Puuc site, which is one of the five architectural styles of the Maya. He offers to show them. I looked for a good explanation, but it's kind of scattered across pages. Go forth and Google "Maya architectural styles".

Roberto fills Alex in on the backstory, as told to him by Ulises. MJ's mom ran off with a rich guy and took Sandra with her. Now Sandra stands to inherit from her supposed grandfather, which has Ulises salivating. Meanwhile, MJ's mom got remarried to a new guy. Roberto doesn't see a problem with Pedro lying to Alex, since he lied to his girls for so long. He's not likely to spill his guts to Alex instead of them. Alex asks for the mom's name. Roberto has pieced together that it's Elena Kruger and she lives somewhere around Toluca. He asks why Alex is even getting into this. Alex thinks it's a new trick of Bruno's, but Roberto assures him that Bruno has nothing to do with this.

Fernando and Vicky enjoy their picnic. Fernando thinks it was foolish of him to have told Felipa that the restaurants in the area have good food, now that he's tasted her food. Fernando says he's wanted to be her "novio" (boyfriend, as he hasn't proposed marriage) for so long. Vicky spits out her wine and laughs, saying it's been so long that she never thought she'd have another boyfriend. She's so comfortable she's got her skirt hiked up and is showing some knee. Careful, there, Vicky, people might think you're enjoying yourself! Vicky says, speaking of boyfriends, she heard that Bruno is Katia's. Fernando says he's just using her to get information. Vicky's not worried--she thinks Katia's a smart girl. Obviously she means a different Katia from the one Fernando's talking about. Fernando doesn't want to talk about it and ruin their day. He'd rather talk about "them". Vicky thinks they've said it all, but Fernando doesn't think they've come to a conclusion. They smooch. Fernando says they shouldn't deny themselves the opportunity to be happy. He invites her to a really nice hotel. She laughs it off. He says he loves her and they kiss again.

They go to the "hotel" which looks more like a lodge or a cabin. The have champagne. Vicky laughs that he's not going change his mind or get scared and says he'd better turn the lights out. Come on, she's not that old. And insecurity is unattractive at any age. But I appreciate her sense of humor about the whole thing. I mean, she hasn't had sex since her husband died, so I guess it's better she be nervous and joking than nervous and avoiding doing it altogether. Fernando leads her upstairs and she keeps giggling and drinking her champagne. Fernando says he's been waiting for this for a long time. Words, words, words. I don't think the actor is really pulling this off. Nor is whatsherface. Come on, he's a young stud, get into it! There's awkward looking kissing and undressing, hands, a clavicle, clothes all over the floor, really bad fake kissing, hands that could use a polish refresher. And then we're postcoital. They grin at each other and then duck under the covers and come out at the foot of the bed. While they're laughing and rolling around their smiles look authentic, even if the loveplay didn't. And that was one tacky comforter--pleather, fuzzy animal print, and fringe? No thank you.

Tomorrow: Raquel drinks some more, gets into a fistfight with MaryJo, and stabs somebody. Damn! How do you say "bitch crazy" in Spanish?

Labels: sortilegio

Julia will be back next week to crack us all up. This week, though, this is just a discussion link.

Labels: amor

When I was a teenager, I devoured those articles in my mom's Ladies Home Journal: " Can This Marriage Be Saved?" It was the closest I could get to a sex education class 'cause they certainly weren't teaching anything of the kind in high school in those days. And of course we're all wondering if Ximena's topsy turvy marriage can make it. Even Lalu in concerned about her methods. As for Connie and Mauricio's noxious nuptials, let's hope not. And now we have another marriage in the offing, that of Salvador and Gabriela. Although why you'd agree to marry someone who faked a heart attack not once but twice is beyond me! Sal has definitely lost his appeal.

So, let's look at these marriages, along with the passionate non-sanctioned marriage of Beto and Connie. Their link is so strong she even appears to enjoy picking nits out of his hair. Aaaarrggh. Gotta be love. And then there's the oh-so-close relationship of Oscar and Jeronimo. Where is that going?

Our first scene is a repeat of perfidious Oscar offering to facilitate Mauricio's divorce from Constanza. He cannily explains that Mau needs a slimeball like him. An upright fellow like Salvador wouldn't be able to dirty his hands and speed things along like Oscar could. Mau appears to be thinking this over. At least his eyes squint and he makes little moues with his lips. Who knows what's actually going in in the itty bitty brain of his?

After making his offer, Oscar sallies forth to find himself nose to nose with an outraged Jeronimo. Little Jerry fears a double betrayal: Oscar is switching to Mau's side and bird-dogging Jackie. But Oscar smoothly dismisses his fears. I'm just helping Mauricio get rid of Connie so we two can divide his money between us, he assures him. And as for Jacqui, I'm simply showing you her true colors. She's capable of betraying you for a couple of pesos (methinks the diamond necklace cost more than that). Jerry is not convinced and the two end as they began, nose to nose, glaring at each other. Can this marriage be saved?

Back to the barrio and our three amigas. Paula's bemoaning her sore feet and the thankless chore of cleaning up all that Beto-broken glass. Monita's still fuming about both Beto and Mauricio and never wants either name mentioned again. Estrella, our voluptuous romantic, is still rooting for Monita's "principe" and is sure he'd move "mar y tierra" (lit. sea and land, but we'd say "heaven and earth") to be with her. No way, snaps Monita.

Mientras tanto, Connie and Beto are having another swarthy, sweaty encounter under the sheets, punctuated by a little luchador chat which gets our feral Connie all excited again and ready for round two.

Fortunately we break for an ad and when we come back, it's to a worried Nieves. She confides in Monita that she believes" la flauta" is really in love with Beto and is having HIS baby. No way! Way. I know what I saw and I know what I heard, insists Nieves. And I'm worried. So worried I went to church and prayed to the Virgencita. Game plan? Since Connie will be an awful mother, Nieves' prayer is that she'll leave little Betito to her and Beto. Mother and son can raise the little fella together. Interesting thought.

Back to the hot sheets. Beto's telling Connie how great Furia is. How he and the masked stranger are best buds and together in the ring, they're unbeatable. They can take on all comers. Connie is looking intrigued. Since Beto also mentioned how surprisingly capable Mauricio was in their fight, I'm afraid she's putting two and two together. She cannily asks if she can come watch their practice one day. Uh oh. The scene ends with a rather down home tenderness. With his head resting cozily on her chest, she thoughtfully picks (lice, nits, dandruff?) out of his hair. Not my idea of romance but if it works for them, so be it.

A strange almost-romance is also taking place at Monita's place. Furia arrives. She quickly loosens her hair. Whew! Symbolism out the wazoo! She was thinking of him. Really? He was thinking of her too. You know, she continues...about how you're in love with me. I'm broken-hearted right now but one day I'll heal. And I want to fall in love with you. Furia looks conflicted. At least his eyes do.

After a break for ads, Monita notices the sad eyes also. But why? I thought you'd be happy. Furia mumbles a little defense of Mauricio and the great love they had. Still, Monita's determined to move on. She has her friends, her boxing and now the presence of Furia in her life. And the hope of loving again. Hey, it's all good.

Yikes, I take that back. Things are getting stranger and stranger with Connie and Beto. He has his arm in one of her black net stockings and now the arm becomes a grungy puppet, talking baby-talk to the mysterious fetus, now nicknamed Baby Blue. Who loves ya' coos Beto. Don't be "cursi" (maudlin) sighs Connie. But she gets weepy herself (se pone chilpil). Ah, with my physique and your intelligence, says Beto, this kid will be great.

Well, time to leave the grungy motel and our equally grungy lovers for....an upscale restaurant and a very spiffy Gabriela and Salvador. They're nattering on about the shameless display Connie put on this morning, flaunting her sordid affair with Beto in everyone's faces. The gentle romantic piano music starts. They're playing our couples' song as they muse about how lucky they are to have each other...each other's support, understanding , inspiration....They close in for a kiss. Things are looking good.

And for Ximena and Rolu? Well, she's forgotten him for most of the day. So busy planning the big par-tay with Lalu. There's some dissing of Thalia, who's let him down and then some fretting about how to handle the mix Ximena envisages. She wants her highfalutin' friends but also her down home folks from the barrio. Sort of a tacos and caviar type thing. Lalu's not sure he can pull it off but he'll try. Three things, Lalu. 1) Nothing's as difficult as it seems. 2) My marriage with Rolu is not as problematic as it seems. 3) Everything has a solution. Fine, snaps Lalu, but I don't think you're handling this in the right way. For God's sakes, woman, tend to your man. He's been tied up all day. No food or drink. (And no bathroom, I'm thinking!) Lalu scampers off and Ximena looks thoughtful. Let's hope she's headed upstairs...or at least to the kitchen.

Okay. Back to the restaurant. Not a funny scene in my opinion. Salvador gives another very convincing imitation of a heart attack. They really drag the scene out with Gabriela fluttering hysterically and finally calling over the maitre d'. But when Sal asks her to touch his chest where he's feeling the stabbing pain, she finds....yeah, you guessed it...a ring. While the headwaiter, the rest of the staff and some cheerful diners stand watching, he asks for her hand in marriage and she gleefully accepts. Champagne for everyone!

Honest to God, that was not funny. Not even cute. What ever happened to straightforward proposals? Oh well. Crankypants alert.

And speaking of cranky, Jacqui is more than a little upset with her daughter's shamelessness. Granted she was a liberal lady in her day, but she never did anything as outrageous as what Connie pulled this morning. You're just miffed because I've outdone you, sniffs Connie. And if you don't like it, leave! Stop trying to run me off, counters Jacqui. Because I'm not going.

And staying with our cranky theme, Rolu is more than a little upset with Ximena and who can blame him? She waltzes in with pasta "avec trois fromages" (except it's only two, that's all she had) and is prepared to feed him with her saintly little hands, since he's still bound hand and foot. No way is he eating anything she's prepared. He wants his gag out, his bonds untied...his....whoops...she's got three things to say to him. 1) If he doesn't change his attitude, well.....2) He can decide. He can make this easy....or hard. 3) Here's dinner but if he lets it get cold, she's not going to warm it up. It's a Mexican standoff.

Well, "a falta de pan, cariño" (when there's no food, affection will have to do). And she pounces on the poor guy (I'm worried about his bladder) and begins to tickle him.

We'll have to see the aftermath of that scene in Wednesday's episode. I can hardly wait.

And now to another strange couple. Jeronimo has arrived to confront the perfidious Jacqueline. She handles him as deftly as her daughter does Mauricio. He's bleating that he's like a lost little dog on a stormy night, cast out into the cold by a treacherous woman. What breed of dog are you? muses Jacqui. You know different breeds react differently. This little bit of philosophy falls on deaf ears so she gets down to brass tacks. All we did was have dinner. Where's the harm in that. It was the least I could do after that charming gift of a diamond necklace. Oscar has the means to take me to nice places and do nice things for me...things I deserve. You attract me....we can still be affectionate...but you're mediocre. She throws a few quick kisses his way and slips out of his grasp, leaving him jiggling and humping like the poor little lost doggie he is. Not much future for this relationship.

Back to the barrio again. Paula and Estrella are gossiping about Furia's presence at Monita's place. Paula's all for the new relationship, Estrella's still backing Maurico. Beto arrives and they both turn their backs on him. What a churl! Scheming with" la momia" to thwart Monita and Mauricio's happiness. Out damned spot! Beto turns only to find another glaring woman bearing down on him...Nieves herself...in high dudgeon. He manages to cool her ire somewhat by having her imagine what it will be like to hold little Betito in her arms, snuggle him, spoil him, feed him, rock him. Fine, she snaps. But until I actually hold him in my arms, I'M NOT FORGIVING YOU!

Our last scene ends with our tepid would-be lovers, Monita and Furia. She's sharing that she feels calm with him. Safe. She doesn't ever want that to change. So never betray me, she pleads. I need to trust someone. Big hug. Major clinch. Then she quickly draws away, says okay and "bye." Oh the conflict! How will Furia handle this new complication? Tune in Wednesday and we'll see.

Previews: Jeronimo is talking about the "cloaca" (I believe he's referring to the barrio) being for sale.
And Monita and Mauricio are in another clinch at the gym, and she's saying "If you didn't wear that mask, I'd ask you to kiss me."

Vocabulary:

se ponen chilpil = get all weepy
se cuece aparte = she's in a class by herself (Beto talking about his mom)
chupamos el dedo = we're born yesterday (Gabriela and Salvador gossiping about Connie and Beto)
rayando mis cuardernos = blotting my copybook (Jerry complaining about Oscar moving in on his lady)
mover mar y tierra = move heaven and earth
eres un puerco. pero no trompudo = Okay. Help! This is one of Beto's refrains. Literally "trompudo" means thick-lipped or blubberlipped. Anyone have an idea what this saying means colloquially? We now have the answer, thanks to the Soothsayer. Puerco pero no trompudo = I'm a pig but not a downright slob, I have my faults but I draw the line, I'm bad but not THAT bad etc. Muchas gracias a usted Soothsayer!!!
ave de rapiña = bird of prey (Sal,talking about Connie)
a fuerzas ni los zapatos entran = you can't force things (Lalu giving marital advice to Ximena)
un poquito de recato = a little reserve, a little decorum (Jackie remonstrating with her daughter)
andas fisgoneando = you're snooping around (Estrella to Paula)
aplicar la ley de hielo = giving someone the cold shoulder, the silent treatment
se quedar muy cortas = Nieves, noting that the girls didn't "go far enough" snubbing Beto
a falta de pan, cariño = when there's no food, affection will have to do

Dicho of the Day:

Cada oveja con su pareja Each to his own. Every Jack has his Jill.
True enough, but which Jack will end up with which Jill? Aldo with Estrella? Christian with Paula? Monita with Mauricio/Furia? Beto with Connie? Salvador with Gabriela? Ximena with Rolu?......and Jackie with whom? Or are Jerry and Oscar destined to be a couple?
And...Can any of these "marriages" be saved? Let's hope so.

Labels: gancho

Happy New Year everyone and I hope you all had a cozy Christmas. I’m off running and don’t have time to edit but I want to get it up. Sorry for errors and omissions!

First are reviews of the last show. It’s been a while since they didn’t show anything Thursday or Friday so I’ll quickly review:
Alex tells Mari to tell the journalists who want to interview him about how he survived on the island (a change from the family scandals) that he is not giving interviews. She shows him the picture of him and Maura at dinner the previous evening and he when she leaves he slams the paper down and looks grim. I love it when he get upset! It’s clear he’s worried about what MaríaJose will think.

Meanwhile, Katia is refusing to believe what Fer is telling her about Bruno: “Nobody knows Bruno better than I do.” Sadly, there is no way this thing can end except with her being wrong. Sorry katia.

And finally, Alex calls MaríaJose and invites her to lunch. She is weepy and he knows that she saw the photo of Alex and Maura at the restaurant. He tells her it means nothing, that he would never cheat on her and that she shouldn’t be sad.
And now to our story….

Paula brings Roberto to the mercado to show him her father’s business. She introduces him to Meche, who is glad to meet him, and to Gabriel, who isn’t. As Roberto, Paula and the others are chatting, Roberto casually reaches over and plays with Paula’s ponytail.

Bruno is telling Katia over the phone that now that he is living at home again it’s too risky to see her. Nonetheless, he agrees to meet her at the restaurant the next day.

Alex drives up and asks for MJ. Ezequiel tells him she is working near the Jacuzzi and Alex gives an alarmed look at Bruno, who has just finished his phone conversation with Katia. He goes to find MaríaJose, who is painting pottery for her father and Chucho,. She receives him rather coolly. He compliments her on her creativity and good taste but she is having none of it and when he asks her if she’s still upset about the photos she wonders what wife wouldn’t be at seeing her (ex) husband kissing another woman. He says he was just saying thanks for her support in the whole deal with the board, and that he won’t deny that he likes Maura, and besides he’s just a very expressive guy. Alex, you cad. You wife is pregnant, you’ve divorced her for business reasons, you’ve twice kissed Maura while being married to MaríaJose, Maura has admitted she made up a terrible story about Mario Aguirre that drove a wedge between you and MaríaJose and almost led to MaríaJose’s death. Does it seem to anyone else that Alex is stringing Maura along for some reason? Or is he having a hard time adjusting to being a one-woman man? At any rate, Alex, sweetie, I don’t know if there are words enough, even coming from you, to convince a very pregnant woman whose husband divorced her for business reasons that her now ex-husband is out snuggling with his former girlfriend and it means nothing.

MJ wonders what her role is now in Alex’s life. Is she going to be the wifey who stays at home popping out children while the husband carries on with his bachelor ways? MaríaJose says she knows Alex doesn’t find her at all attractive and that someone like Maura must be very tempting but, but, but…she walks away, too upset to continue. Alex follows her, insisting that she’s more beautiful than ever now that she’s pregnant. He tells her that people don’t fall in love just because someone is pretty, and asks her if she will stop loving him when he’s a wrinkled old man with a big belly (perish the thought!) Hmm, look at that, he did find the words, because MJ smiles and teases him that she will let him get wrinkles, but never a big belly, and they kiss and laugh.

Alex asks MJ not to work outside anymore because he’s worried about what Bruno might do in his obsessed state. And, he says, he’s going to start looking for a house for them. MJ is delighted and paints his nose green in gratitude.

Raquel is telling an appalled Vicki that she wants an abortion and she wants Hernán to help her find a private clinic. Vicki tells her that even when she was pregnant and Samuel knew the children couldn’t possibly be his because he was infertile, she never wanted to get rid of them. Well, Raquel says, I’m not as good as you.

Roberto, Don Pedro and Paula are eating at a lovely outdoor restaurant. Don Pedro thanks Roberto for being so good to them but Paula insists that they, too, are practically Lombardos given their relationship to MariaJose. In this scene she clearly has a sense of entitlement to the good life.

Gabriel is complaining to Meche that as soon as a rich guy comes along and invites Paula out she doesn’t stay to eat lunch with them. Meche says she can do what she wants – it’s none of their business. Chucho comes along with sandwiches for all (what a contrast with the beautiful outdoor restaurant where Roberto took them) .

Paula has to go to school so she is leaving Roberto and Don Pedro, but she tells Roberto she wants him to come and visit more often. Ay Paula. Cuidado hija. After she leaves, Don Pedro asks Roberto what his attentions are, and Roberto assures him he sees Paula as nothing but a little sister (I think that’s what he said).

Mateo, aka fake Mario Aguirre, is telling Ulises over the phone that he found Sandra but now she’s gone. Ulises tells him to come back (to his apartment, I suppose).

Robert and Don Chucho continue their conversation, and Roberto asks Don Pedro if he had other children because he has a friend who looks identical to MariaJose. Don Pedro denies it, claiming that everyone has a double. Roberto doesn’t seem convinced.

Ulises calls Elena and tells her that they found Sandra but she disappeared and he needs some money to find her. Elena agrees to send him some, and also says she’s going to cancel Sandra’s credit cards to force her back.

Vicki tells Hernán that Raquel wants an abortion, and she’s worried because Raquel is so far along. Hernán tells Vicki to send Raquel to the clinic for some additional testing as there were some anomalies in her first round of tests. These two seem to be at cross purposes, with Vicki saying Raquel wants an abortion, and Hernán saying she should come in to do further tests to make sure the baby is all right.

At the market, Chucho begins to worm Don Pedro’s story out of him with his magic phrase: “Aflójese las apreturas.” I had never heard these words before this show but I guess it means something like “spill,” and Don Pedro does. (I’m combining two scenes, here.) He tells Chucho that Elena didn’t really die, as he told his daughters, but in fact left him. One day he was bringing the girls to church but Sandra had the flu (la gripe – what a perfect name for it) and so he left her behind. When he got back they were gone. Chucho wants to know if Elena married the other man, but sweet, naïve Don Pedro doesn’t see how she could have because in fact the two of them never divorced. Chucho thinks Roberto must know something about it and suggests that DP talk to him about it.

Sandra is with a sleazy guy (is this the one she buys drugs from?) trying to withdraw money from the ATM but she keeps getting an “insufficient funds” (fondos insuficientes) message. What’s this? She can’t understand what’s going wrong. The next time we see her she’s at a party in a drug- or alcohol-induced haze (maybe drug AND alcohol-induced haze) demanding that Elena reactivate her credit cards. Elena says that if she doesn’t come back she’ll lose the inheritance, but Sandra doesn’t care about it or the old man. Elena refuses to re-activate the credit cards and Sandra says that if she doesn’t she, Sandra, will turn to prostitution and it will be all her mother’s fault! (My childhood threats to run away pale in comparison to this one.)

Fer goes into Bruno’s room and asks him what’s this he’s heard about him and Katia getting married. Their conversation goes something like this (not a translation – just an outline):
B: “That’s nothing but schoolgirl fantasy on Katia’s part!”
F: “I’ll have you charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors (corrupción de menores)!!
B: “Your sister should be so lucky!!!
F: “I’m warning you!!!!
B: “Ooooooh I’m scared. You’ve got no proof, and anyway, Katia would deny it!!!!!

Elena calls Ulises and gives him Sandra’s cell phone number in Mexico City. Ulises asks for money but Elena says she can’t be constantly running to her husband asking for $$$. Ulises says he doesn’t even have money for a plane ticket to Mexico City, and they have to move fast or Sandra will leave again. Say, how many times is Ulises going to cash in on going to get Sandra – first from Robert, now from Elena, and next?

Raquel calls Ulises to tell him she does not want the baby and wants to find a good hospital. (She says she doesn’t want the abortion in a hospital de tercera, but I’m not sure what that is. Any ideas, anyone?) Ulises helpfully tells her not to worry so much, but then has to hang up because someone is at the door about (you guessed it) a business deal. Roberto comes into the chalet and proposes a deal with Raquel: he’ll give her the divorce and she will give him the baby.

Ale and MJ are in bed wondering what the baby will be like. “Like you!” “No, no, like you!”

MaríaJose, Alex, Vicki, Felipa and Paula are having breakfast. Alex is explaining that his good mood when Bruno skulks up to the door and listens in. The plan is to sell some shares to Maura, who will then vote for Alex for President and make the count five for Alex and only four for Bruno. Bruno runs away and nobody sees him. I know he’s the villain but for a moment he almost looks like a leprechaun as he tiptoes away.

Sorry folks – it’s getting late and I’ve got to run and this last part is kind of a mash.

Bruno is MAD at this latest development hitch in his plan for Lombardo domination and arranges with Erik to have MaríaJose’s father arrested on trumped up piratería charges.

Now we’re in the board room with MaríaJose, Alex, Maura and two lawyers to sign the papers selling stock to Maura, giving her a vote in company matters. Maura explains that Lisette isn’t buying any stock because it was no longer necessary to have two additional votes, and besides, she’s tired all the time and all she does is sleep. (No significant music is heard in the background at this point but this seems like a major hint.) MaríaJose, her hand in Alex’s, thanks Maura for her help and Maura, looking like she’s sucking a lemon, says she’s doing it for herself because it’s a good investment. What better place to invest than in a company run by Alejandro Lombardo, (she leans forward and caresses his arm) the best darn businessman in Merida. (If Alex were a toy doll he would be ripped in two by now.) The papers are signed, the lawyers leave, and Maura assures MaríaJose that between her and Alex (caressing Alex’s shoulders) they will take good care of her stock. MJ says she trusts Alex a lot, and also trusts Maura to support him as the good friend that she is. They kiss, and Maura notes that they are pretty cuddly for a divorced couple. MJ has to leave but Maura says she is staying behind to talk to Alex – “About business, of course.” (I’m combining two scenes here)

After MJ leaves Alex thanks Maura for her help, but says he doesn’t like the way she acts with him in front of MaríaJose. (Alex, baby, I think this is another mixed message. Maura thinks you two are divorced, and you’re telling her not to show so much affection when MJ is around.) Maura tells him not to be so sensitive – that his ex surely realizes that the two of them have a lot of “cariño” for each other. (That “cariño” is a tricky word, since it can mean affection or love.) Alex doesn’t deny it but tells her he wants to make sure she doesn’t mistake their business arrangement for something else, and then asks her what she wants to know about the company. Maura, who we know is certainly no quitter, smiles, plays with her hair and tells him “everything.”

Fer is telling Katia he talked to Bruno, who says that he has no intention of marrying Katia because she’s just a kid. Katia insists that Bruno loves her, and for herself, since she has nothing she can offer him but herself and her love. Oh really, says Fernando – maybe what you can offer him is information about my whereabouts. Maybe you were the one who told him that Alex and I were going to the Domincian Republic. He tells her to open her eyes and realize that she is nothing to him. He leaves her crying but her eyes don’t look any wider.

Vicki and Felipa go to Raquel’s house. It’s morning but Raquel is already enjoying a cocktail, and it’s probably not her first one. Raquel says she changed her mind about the abortion, and also that Roberto is giving her a divorce. She says sadly that Ulises doesn’t want to see her anymore but the thought that this might be because she is simply intolerable doesn’t enter her mind for an instant. She wonders to herself if Roberto is driving him away. If it’s true (she bares her teeth and looks pretty fierce) he will PAY!

Arturo helps a very awkward and pregnant MariaJose out of the car. Bruno traps her on the stairs and says she better vote for him or he’ll send her father to jail, and just because he’s innocent now doesn’t mean no evidence from before. She refuses. She goes inside and goes upstairs with Paula, who can’t understand how awful Raquel is to Roberto. If she were Roberto’s wife, she says, she’d take good care of him.

This next scene I’m not sure I understood, so if anyone has any changes please help us out. Rufino, Pedro’s old partner in crime, is stopped at the side of the road and his car is being searched for contraband. He insists that it’s not his, that it’s been planted, but what I’m not sure of is whether or not we can know if it really is a plant (he is a pretty nasty criminal already, after all.) But we see Erik standing in the background watching, so I suppose he must have set it up. Anyway (and I’m combining scenes again), once Rufino is in Jail Erik goes to visit him and says that he represents “a friend.” This “friend” has excellent lawyers – the best in Mexico, and can make sure that Rufino goes free. What Rufino has to do in exchange is testify that Pedro Samaniego is in on it with him. Rufino asks several times who the “friend” is and Erik finally tells him that his name is Mario Aguirre.

Bruno and Kartia are at the restaurant and Bruno is telling Katia that he has to deny everything related to her and that they can’t be together, because if Fer finds out it will ruin his chances at getting the presidency. He leaves her at the restaurant because of course he can’t take her home, and she looks sad and disabused.

Roberto visits Alex at Lombardo construction and says he wants to keep the baby but will need money to do that and Raquel has cut up all his credit cards. Alex thinks Roberto is there to ask him for a handout but Roberto says he wants a job. Alex is surprised but Roberto reminds him that people can change – Alex himself used to always be with a different woman, but now he’s only with MariaJose – and he wants to change, too. A time comes when a man looks around at his life, sees how all around him are false, and wants something different, something better, something pure; he thinks the baby can be that for him. I love the way Roberto has developed in this story!

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